Page 14 of Married to the Mafia Devil

“Give me five minutes first. You went for a piss and I stole your key.”

“I could do with taking a leak.” He walks away, tossing me the key as he goes.

I get inside the brothel. It used to be an arcade. It’s still got the stained carpet and some of the machines though the screens are cracked and dark. Near the front is an office, banknotes piled neatly together.

Most of the rest of the space has been divided up into rooms. Cells is more accurate. The door to each of them is locked.

Through grime smeared windows I can see hookers slumped on their stained mattresses, chains around their ankles. Some are asleep. Those awake glance up at me, fear in their eyes. They think I’m a potential client. I move from one window to the next. At least a dozen women, all locked up, all slaves to Petrovitch’s greed.

It’s what drove the wedge between him and my father. A lot of money to made in flesh, Petrovitch used to say. My father had standards, no women or kids.

Petrovitch tried to persuade him to change his mind but he refused. Looking in the cells, I know my father made the right decision. He might have been a drunk but he kept his standards.

At the end of the row, I push a door open and step into a lounge that stinks of stale beer and sweat. I stop dead. My heart catches in my throat. There she is.

She looks as beautiful as ever, more so against the filth of the surroundings. Behind her the two men stand like they’re in charge. The bulldog has a gun to her head. The beanpole does the talking. “You bring the money?” he asks.

“Outside with the Bentley. Flight is booked. You’ve got two hours to get to the airport. Leave her with me and walk.”

He turns and grins at his colleague. “Told you he wasn’t all that. We’re home free, buddy.”

They scurry past me, their relief palpable. They’re fools to think they’ve escaped death. It’s only been delayed a little while I check if she's okay.

Turning to Emma, I see the fear and the relief warring in her eyes. “Did they hurt you?” I ask as I hold out a hand to lift her to her feet.

As our fingers touch, a jolt of something shoots into me, sparking a fire that threatens to consume me whole.

She feels it too, her pupils dilating as she looks at me. “Those girls,” she says, glancing past me toward the cells. “I didn’t know it was like this.”

“Not all of them are this bad. Igor Petrovitch keeps all his girls in places like this. Most of them are doped up to keep them pliant. Come on, let’s move.”

“My sister almost ended up in a place like this.” She shudders as I guide her past the cells. “Where are we going?” She’s in a daze. I’m not surprised. This is no place for a soul as pure as hers.

“We’re going to my place.”

“What about Amelia? Last she saw, I was being dragged out of our apartment. Is she all right?”

It tugs at my heart that her first thought is for her sister. “Those two are the only existing threat. My men are watching your apartment just in case. They will make sure nothing happens to her. You have my word.”

She lets me guide her past the last of the cells into the open air. Wincing at the light, she gasps at the sight of the two men, bound and waiting for me.

Alex stands beside them, gun in his hand. Peter is looking up at the sky like it’s particularly interesting today.

“Did they give you anything useful?” I ask Alex.

He nods, kicking the man nearest to him. “This skinny son of a bitch wouldn’t stop talking. Petrovitch took the case out of the dumpster himself. He’s got it hidden somewhere but they don’t know where. Hoping to use it to steal your deal but he’s not cracked the code yet.”

“Of course. He blackmails the committee, they sell to him instead of me. We get nothing. Can he crack the code?”

“I hired three from Langley to work on it. He’s got more chance of licking my nuts while I’m dressed as Taylor Swift.” The nearest guy groans. He gives him another kick. “Can I kill them now? Their whining is getting on my nerves.”

“And take the pleasure from me?” I walk up to the first man, kneeling beside him. “You scared her,” I say, digging my finger into his cheek, forcing it through the flesh. He roars into his gag but I don’t stop until I’ve ripped his cheek wide open. “I warned you what would happen.”

I leave him to scream, turning to his colleague. The bulldog shakes with terror as I take out my knife and move it toward his eyes. “I ‘m good with this,” I say. “I can slice your eyelids off without damaging anything else. That way you can’t stop watching while I cut your friend into pieces.” I move the knife closer, enjoying his terror. “Make you eat them all before I kill you.”

“Stop,” Emma says behind me. “Stop torturing him.”

I get back to my feet and glare at her. “They kidnapped you. You expect me to give them flowers and thank them? I thought you’d want them dead.”

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